During the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of families experiencing hardships across the country has risen dramatically, with a disproportionate impact on Latino and Black communities. Twenty-nine percent of Latino and 31 percent of Black households with children are experiencing three or more co-occurring economic and health-related hardships as a result of the pandemic, according to recent data. This is nearly twice the rate among Asian and White households with children (13% and 16%, respectively). Disparities in experiencing multiple, co-occurring hardships were not fully explained by racial and ethnic differences in income in our analysis; Hispanic and Black low-income families also experienced multiple hardships at greater rates than Asian and White low-income families. This data point draws recent data from the U.S. Census Pulse survey to provide estimates about the rates of co-occurring hardships among families including families with low income (defined as less than $50,000 in 2019 pre-tax household income) and discusses the systemic barriers that may drive these disparities. Read the full data point.

Note: We use the terms “Hispanic” and “Latino” interchangeably throughout the data point. 

This is a joint publication from Child Trends and the National Research Center on Hispanic Children & Families.

Suggested Citation:

Padilla, C., & Thomson, D. (2021). More than one in four Latino and Black households with children are experiencing three or more hardships during COVID-19. National Research Center on Hispanic Children & Families. https://doi.org/10.59377/796q8357j